>>Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men >who signed the >>Declaration of Independence? >> >>Five signers were captured by the British as >traitors, and tortured before >>they died. >> >>Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. >> >>Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary >Army; another had two >>sons captured. >> >>Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or >hardships of the >>Revolutionary War. >> >>They signed and they pledged their lives, their >fortunes, and their sacred >>honor. What kind of men were they? >> >>Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were >merchants, nine were >>farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, >well educated. But they >>signed the Declaration of Independence knowing >full well that the penalty >>would be death if they were captured. >> >>Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and >trader, saw his ships >>swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold >his home and properties >>to pay his debts, and died in rags. >> >>Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that >he was forced to move His >>family almost constantly. He served in the >Congress without pay, and his >>family was kept in hiding. His possessions were >taken from him, and >>poverty was his reward. >> >>Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of >Dillery, Hall, Clymer, >>Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and >Middleton. >> >>At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted >that the British >>General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home >for his headquarters. He >>quietly urged General George Washington to open >fire. The home was >>destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. >> >>Francis Lewis had his home and properties >destroyed. The enemy jailed his >>wife, and she died within a few months. >> >>John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as >she was dying. Their 13 >>children fled for their lives. His fields and his >gristmill were laid to >>waste. For more than a year he lived in forests >and caves, returning home >>to find his wife dead and his children vanished. >A few weeks later he >>died from exhaustion and a broken heart. >> >>Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. >> >>Such were the stories and sacrifices of the >American Revolution. >> >>These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. >They were soft-spoken >>men of means and education. They had security, but >they valued liberty >>more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, >they pledged: "For the >>support of this declaration, with firm reliance on >the protection of the >>divine providence, we mutually pledge to each >other, our lives, our >>fortunes, and our sacred honor." >> >>They gave you and me a free and independent >America. The history books >>never told you a lot about what happened in the >Revolutionary War. We >>didn't fight just the British. We were British >subjects at that time, and >>we fought our own government! >> >>Some of us take these liberties so much for >granted, but we shouldn't. >>So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of >July holiday and >>silently thank these patriots. It's not much to >ask for the price they >>paid.